Warm Greys
by flipstahhz
Summary: [one-shot] She can't sleep; he never can. She needs advice; he never fails to deliver. [friendship/sorato]


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_synopsis: she can't sleep; he never can. she needs advice; he never fails to deliver. [friendship/sorato]_

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**Warm Greys**

[ one-shot ]

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She couldn't sleep.

Her mind was occupied, swarming with thoughts, like a hive of bees relentlessly buzzing in her ears. She never really had any problems falling asleep, but it was one of those rare nights she couldn't. Her mind was too active that she couldn't switch off her brain, making it impossible to nod off. The more she tried to sleep, the more her thoughts became wild, and active - thoughts jumbling into a mix of anxiety and irritation.

Sora shuffled onto the side of her bed, bare feet stepping onto the carpeted surface. She didn't bother with the lights. After laying in bed for hours in pitch darkness, turning on the lamp did not seem inviting to her sensitive eyes. Besides, Sora prided herself in walking around in the dark. There were countless of times during her adolescent years she'd refuse to not put on any lights on when she'd sneak past her parents' room, breaking into her home when it was past her curfew.

She dawdled outside of her bedroom, palming both hands against the walls of the narrow hallway until she saw the dim lighting at the end of it. The neon, hazy glow emitting from the refrigerator was enough to give her back vision. Pulling a glass from the dish rack, she poured herself a glass of water.

As she took a sip from it, her eyes darted to the balcony. She didn't know whether it was the soft breeze or the acoustic melody that found her first, but it was enough to raise awareness that she wasn't the only one in the household up at four in the morning.

There was only one person in their all-male-but-her share house that was music literate, that liked lingering outside, on the balcony, during peculiar times.

Sora joined him. He continued to strum his guitar, not looking up. However, he noted that she was there as he shuffled to the side of the bench.

She placed the now two glasses of water onto the table, sitting next to him and filling up the empty space. The weather was sloping more towards cold. Her arms immediately noticed the temperature change, small bumps forming. She brought her feet up onto the bench, tugging her pale t-shirt pyjamas down to her ankles, pulled her knees to her chest and hugging herself. It wasn't that chilly to convince herself to step back into the apartment to rug up. She was too lazy to, and besides, Yamato was there.

Sora gazed at him. His eyes were focused on the specks of lights that decorated the Rainbow Bridge. He scented of tobacco and liquor. Not a single hint of drowsiness in his appearance, which was no surprise considering he was the insomniac, the night owl out of all of the housemates. As soon as Taichi's head would touch the pillow, he'd be fast asleep. Once supplied with hot, oolong tea prior to bedtime, Koushiro would be out like a baby. Oolong tea sedated him; it was his kryptonite.

Sora wondered how lonely it was to be up all the time at night, all by yourself. Knowing that the other guys were in a deep slumber, she leaned closer to Yamato and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Can't sleep?" he said, voice melodic as the soothing music he was currently playing.

"Mmm, yeah," she replied. "I didn't hear you come back."

"Got back an hour ago. I feel too buzzed to sleep. The groom kept supplying me with an endless supply of drinks. Apparently, my eyes are the same colour as his childhood cat named Ginger."

She giggled. The stories Yamato would tell her always made her smile. His band was often hired for random gigs, from night cover sessions at a bar, to performing sets at local festivals or weddings. He earned the least with what he did, but it never made him deter from trading careers for a more steady one. Music made him content, it made him whole.

Abandoning the guitar, Yamato sunk an arm downward, placing it around her hip. She sighed against his neck, tension easing from her aching back. They hadn't been in close proximity since the start of the week, when she had woken up in his bed again and had to tiptoe back into her room before their other housemates caught them.

It started a month back. They had a mutual friend's party and had taken the same taxi home. As soon as they had been dropped off, instead of unlocking the front door, Yamato had pushed Sora up against it instead. He had pressed his knee between her legs, mouth hovering over hers. There had always been an unspoken attraction between them, that it didn't shock her when she had tugged on her collar and kissed him straight on the lips. Although they had their fair amount of drinks that night, they weren't completely wasted.

What was meant to be a one night thing became a repetition. It was a mistake that kept happening. Sora knew Yamato had commitment issues, whereas Sora wasn't in a hurry for something official, as she was quite content with how things were between them. However, the mistakes were getting frequent. They had been aiming for casual, but they both knew that it was becoming something more - and she was fine with that. Sora was simply happy being with Yamato, and that's all there was to it.

"What's troubling you, Sora?"

Yamato's cues were impeccable. She could have said that she had woken up for a toilet break, that her throat was parched and she wanted water - any excuse, but because she hadn't said it when he had asked her why she couldn't sleep, he automatically knew something was up.

"How do you wish something away?" Sora asked him.

"I don't think that it's possible because how can you wish something away when you already know that it exists?"

"I just wish I didn't see it. I have no idea what to do."

"Can't you ignore it?"

"I can't. That's why I can't sleep."

Yamato pulled her in closer, chin resting on the top of her head. "We could go to my room…"

"That would be worse." She rolled her eyes but could not fight the smile that lifted her lips upwards. She could hear the laughter in his voice. "If we used that technique, none of us would go to sleep."

"I'm not complaining."

She stepped on his foot, finally causing his laughter to be exposed in the open. She didn't push him away though. If anything, she drew closer to him. He kissed her on the forehead, and then began to rub circles on her back. She exhaled in response, eyes closing.

"My best friend's boyfriend is cheating on her."

She had admitted it. The single sentence sliced into the night, and she felt grateful that it wasn't only her who held the secret now. For the whole day she had thought about it in her head, so it was rather odd to finally expose it in the open because it felt more real.

Yamato swore under his breath. "Taichi and I always thought he was a bit of an ass."

He didn't have to guess who it was, or say the name out loud for clarification. Their friendship group was relatively close, so it wasn't rocket science for him to figure out which friend it was that was being cheated on.

She hadn't wanted to involve him, or anybody in fact, but she was going crazy holding onto it by herself. Besides, it wasn't like she could tell the other girls about it because if she told one of them about it, she'd have to disclose it to everybody. The more people knew, the more Mimi would fret. Sora knew Yamato could keep a secret, she knew that he could give her an unbiased opinion, and - not to mention - he was good at acting like he didn't know anything more than he let on. (Sora could list the many times that Taichi had blamed Koushiro for stealing his corn chips, when it had been actually Yamato.)

"Do you regret asking me why I couldn't sleep now?"

Yamato chuckled. Unlike his joking tone earlier, it was laced with bitterness. "Kind of. This stuff is heavy and hits close to home."

"Oh God, Yamato," Sora groaned, realisation hitting her like a slap to the face. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." He mutters, "It's not our fault that shit people exist."

Perhaps he was the wrong person to speak to. She must have been coming off as insensitive to him because it was only a year ago that he had broken up with ex because when he had caught her red-handed with another guy in bed. It wasn't like Mimi had seen her boyfriend with the other woman. Sora had saved her from that grief, and it was information that she didn't know what to do with.

Her arms were tied behind her back and if she were to take action, or to step out of the firing ring, both situations would not end well. She had simulated it continuously in her mind ever since she had discovered it. There was no right answer. Regardless, it would involve her friend getting hurt.

"But I know you'll make the right decision, Sora." He repositioned himself, turning his body to face her. His blue eyes appeared darker in the dim lighting. "You don't really need me to tell you what to do because you already know what to do, right?"

Damn Yamato and his practicality, Sora thought. If it had been Koushiro, he would have instructed her how to construct an ingenious plan of revenge. Taichi would have charged straight at that guy, asking me for details of his whereabouts so that he could knock him out.

And Yamato? He saw past the right and wrong. He saw the greys, the in-betweens. People usually talked about how his hair was an ash yellow, or how his eyes were a vibrant blue. However, to Sora, he resembled a grey. He was complex, observant, and interpreted things differently than other people would. To her, he was a grey - not a cold grey, but a warm one. That's why she appreciated him, and always sought his input regarding particular matters because his advice was invaluable.

She sighed. "I'll tell her tomorrow."

"I knew you would."

She sat straighter. His eyes were following her movements, keeping quiet when she leaned it and pulled the stray hair out of his face. Her arms wrapped around his neck, kissing him on the cheek. "Thanks."

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**(a/n)** Something short and, maybe, cute? I don't know. This just wrote itself up. There's no other reason, really. Hope you enjoyed this one-shot :)


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